Camera module for portable device

ABSTRACT

A camera module is provided. The camera module includes a camera device and a support ring. The camera device includes a substrate, an image sensor device on the substrate, and a holder for covering the image sensor device, wherein the holder includes a side portion placed around the image sensor device. The support ring is fixed to and laterally extends from the side portion of the holder, and is attached onto a wall portion of the chassis. A portable device with the camera module is also disclosed.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a Continuation Application of co-pending applicationSer. No. 13/710,123, filed on Dec. 10, 2012, which claims the benefit ofU.S. Provisional Application No. 61/621,074, filed on Apr. 6, 2012. Theentire contents of each of the above applications are herebyincorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates to optical imaging technology, and in particularto a camera module for a mobile phone.

2. Description of the Related Art

Recently, with the development of optical imaging technology, more andmore portable devices, such as digital cameras, mobile phones and thelike, have become increasingly popular. In particular, mobilecommunication devices are equipped with camera modules for capturingpicture and video, such as camera phones, and are widely used. Nowadays,the camera phone further includes a touch panel display device placed ata front side of the camera phone opposite to the camera module that isplaced at a backside of the camera phone.

In a typically camera phone, however, a portion of the camera module mayprotrude from the housing of the camera phone. Such a protrusion of thecamera module is detrimental for providing a camera phone with a flatterand thinner profile. Moreover, such a protrusion of the camera moduledetracts from the appearance of the camera phone.

Accordingly, there exists a need in the art for development of a novelcamera module, capable of mitigating or eliminating the aforementionedproblems.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A detailed description is given in the following embodiments withreference to the accompanying drawings. A camera module in a chassis anda portable device are provided. An exemplary embodiment of a cameramodule comprises a camera device and a support ring. The camera devicecomprises a substrate, an image sensor device on the substrate, and aholder for covering the image sensor device, wherein the holder includesa side portion placed around the image sensor device. The support ringis fixed to and laterally extends from the side portion of the holder,and is attached onto a wall portion of the chassis.

An exemplary embodiment of a portable device comprises a display module,a housing, a printed circuit board, a chassis and a camera module. Thehousing has an aperture and covers the display module. The printedcircuit board is disposed between the display module and the housing andhas a through hole. The chassis comprises a wall portion and a plateportion with a through hole. The wall portion is on the plate portionand along a periphery of the through hole of the plate portion andpasses through the through hole of the printed circuit board to create acavity corresponding to the aperture. The camera module is attached ontothe wall portion of the chassis. The camera module comprises a cameradevice and a support ring. The camera device is disposed in the cavityof the chassis. The support ring is fixed to and laterally extends froma side portion of the camera device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The invention can be more fully understood by reading the subsequentdetailed description and examples with references made to theaccompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective diagram of an exemplary embodiment of a cameramodule attached onto a chassis according to the invention;

FIG. 2A is a cross section of the camera module attached onto a chassisshown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 2B is a cross section of another exemplary embodiment of a cameramodule attached onto a chassis according to the invention; and

FIGS. 3 to 6 are cross sections of various exemplary embodiments of aportable device with a camera module according to the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION

The following description is of the best-contemplated mode of carryingout the invention. This description is provided for the purpose ofillustrating the general principles of the invention and should not betaken in a limiting sense. The scope of the invention is best determinedby reference to the appended claims.

The following embodiments disclose a camera module and a portable deviceusing the same, which are capable of eliminating the protrusion of thecamera module, thereby providing a portable device with a flatter andthinner profile.

Refer to FIGS. 1 and 2A, in which FIG. 1 illustrates a perspectivediagram of a camera module 20 attached onto a chassis 204 according toan exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure and FIG. 2Aillustrates a cross section of a camera module 20 attached onto achassis 204 shown in FIG. 1. The camera module 20 comprises a cameradevice 200, a support ring 201, and a conductive buffer pad 202.Typically, a camera device may comprise a substrate, an image sensordevice, a lens set, a flexible printed circuit (FPC) and a holder. Theimage sensor device, such as a CCD or CMOS, is disposed on the substrateand is used for converting the incident light into an electric signaland outputting the electric signal. The lens set is disposed above theimage sensor device for focusing the incident light onto the imagesensor device. The FPC is used for receiving the electric signal fromthe image sensor device and outputting the received electric signal toan external circuit. The holder is used for covering and holding theimage sensor device and the overlying lens set. Moreover, the holder maycomprise a side portion placed around the image sensor device and thesubstrate. In order to simplify the diagram, only a holder portion 200a, an image sensor device 200 b and a substrate 200 c are depicted asrepresenting the camera device 200.

The support ring 201 is fixed to and laterally extends from the sideportion of the camera device 200. For example, the support ring 201 isfixed to and laterally extends from an outer circumference of the sideportion of the holder 200 a, such that the support ring 201 encloses anupper portion of the holder 200 a and is in direct contact with the sideportion of the holder 200 a. As a result, the upper portion of thecamera device 200 is also enclosed by the support ring 201. In theembodiment, the support ring 201 may comprise metal or plastic.Moreover, the support ring 201 may comprise a material which is the sameas or different from that of the holder 200 a of the camera device 200.Additionally, an outer circumference of the support ring 201 may have anoctagonal profile, as shown in FIG. 1. However, it is appreciated thatthe outer circumference of the support ring 201 may have other profiles,such as a circular, triangular, squared, rectangular, pentagonal,hexagonal or polygonal profile.

The conductive buffer pad 202, such as a gasket, is attached onto alower surface of the substrate 200 c of the camera device 200 to serveas a portion of grounding path for electromagnetic interference (EMI)protection of the camera device 200.

In the embodiment, the chassis 204 comprises a plate portion 204 a and awall portion 204 b. The plate portion 204 a has a through hole. The wallportion 204 b is on the upper surface of the plate portion 204 a andalong the periphery of the through hole of the plate portion 204 a, soas to create a cavity 205 in the chassis 204 for placement of the cameradevice 200. When the camera device 200 is placed into the cavity 205 ofthe chassis 204, the support ring 201 attached onto the upper portion ofthe camera device 200 forms a flange. The flange is laterally extendedfrom the outer circumference of the holder 200 a of the camera device200, to contact an upper surface of the wall portion 204 b of thechassis 204, such that the camera device 200 attached to the supportring 201 can be supported by the chassis 204, so as to prevent thecamera device 200 from dropping out from the cavity 205 of the chassis204. Moreover, a lower portion of the camera device 200 can be furtherinserted into the through hole of the plate portion 204 a of the chassis204. As a result, a protruding amount of the camera module 20 can bereduced or fully eliminated.

Refer to FIG. 2B, which illustrates a cross section of a camera module20′ attached onto a chassis 204 according to another exemplaryembodiment of the present disclosure. Elements in FIG. 2B that are thesame as those in FIG. 2A are labeled with the same reference numbers asin FIG. 2A and are not described again for brevity. In the embodiment,the camera module 20′ has a structure similar to the camera module 20shown in FIG. 2A except that the support ring is integrally formed withthe holder of the camera device 200 and is labeled with 201′.

FIGS. 3 to 6 illustrate cross sections of various exemplary embodimentsof a portable device with a camera module according to the presentdisclosure. Elements in FIGS. 3 to 6 that are the same as those in FIG.2A are labeled with the same reference numbers as in FIG. 2A and are notdescribed again for brevity. Referring to FIG. 3, a portable device,such as a mobile phone, comprises a display module 208, a housing 210, aprinted circuit board (PCB) 206, a chassis 204, and a camera module 20.The display module 208 may comprise, for example, a liquid crystaldisplay (LCD) device, an organic light-emitting display (OLED) device,an MEMS display module, or an electrophoretic display (EPD) device. Insome embodiments, the display module 208 may further comprise a touchsensing module (which is also referred to as a touch window) integratedinto the display module to form a touch panel display.

The housing 210 has an aperture and covers the display module 208. Inthe embodiment, the housing 210 comprises a multilayer structure. Forexample, the housing 210 may comprises a first layer 210 a and a secondlayer 210 b on the first layer 210 a. In one embodiment, the first layer210 a may comprise metal and the second layer 20 b may comprise plastic.

The PCB 206 is disposed between a non-viewing side of the display module208 and the housing 210 and may be fixed to the housing 210. The PCB 206has a through hole to expose a region of the display module 208 where acamera module 20 is mounted thereon.

The chassis 204 comprises a plate portion 204 a with a through hole anda wall portion 204 b, wherein the plate portion 204 a of the chassis 204is interposed between the PCB 206 and the display module 208 and isfixed to the housing 210 or the PCB 206. Moreover, the wall portion 204b is on the upper surface of the plate portion 204 a and along theperiphery of the through hole of the plate portion 204 a and passesthrough the through hole of the PCB 206, so as to create a cavity 205 inthe chassis 204 and corresponding to the aperture of the housing 210.The chassis 204 may be composed of metal, such as aluminum, copper, analloy thereof, or combinations thereof, and the like.

The camera module 20 is attached onto the wall portion of the 204 b ofthe chassis 204. Moreover, the camera module 20 has a lower surfaceattached onto the display module 208 by the conductive buffer pad 202.The camera device 200 of the camera module 20 is disposed in the cavity205 of the chassis 204. Moreover, the support ring 201 of the cameramodule 20 is fixed to and laterally extends from the side portion of thecamera device 200, such that the support ring 201 of the camera module20 encloses the upper portion of the camera device 200 and is laterallyextended from an outer circumference of the camera device 200 to anupper surface of the wall portion 204 b of the chassis 204. The cameramodule 20 is electrically connected to the PCB 206 by the FPC (notshown) of the camera device 2000. Moreover, the conductive buffer pad202 is electrically connected to the grounding pad (not shown) of thedisplay module 208, thereby accomplishing EMI protection of the cameramodule 20.

In one embodiment, the wall portion 204 b has an open ring profile asviewed from a top-view perspective, such that an FPC (not shown) of thecamera device 200 can be laterally extended to outside of the chassis204 from the cavity 205. This is convenient for electrically connectingthe camera device 200 to an external circuit (not shown) via the FPC. Inanother embodiment, the wall portion 204 b has a closed ring profile asviewed from a top-view perspective. In this case, the wall portion 204 bfurther comprises a through hole, such that the FPC of the camera device200 can be laterally extended to outside of the chassis 204 from thecavity 205.

An optional protective lens 214 may be in the aperture of the housing210 to cover the camera module 20. For example, the protective lens 214may be attached onto the support ring 201 of the camera module 20 by anadhesive layer (not shown), such as a tape, to cover the camera device200. Moreover, a sponge 212, which has a ring profile as viewed from atop-view perspective, may be optionally interposed between the housing210 and the support ring 201 of the camera module 20 to serve as a shockabsorber. Since the protruding amount of the camera module 20 can bereduced or fully eliminated, the upper surface of the protective lens214 can be substantially level with or lower than the outer surface ofthe housing 210.

Referring to FIG. 4, the portable device has a structure similar to thestructure shown in FIG. 3 except for the position of the protective lens214. In the embodiment, the protective lens 214 is not in direct contactwith the support ring 201 of the camera module 20, but is disposed on asurrounding portion of the housing 210, which circumscribes the apertureof the housing 210. For example, the protective lens 214 is disposed ona portion of the first layer 210 a of the housing 210 and is enclosed bythe second layer 210 b of the housing 210. In the embodiment, the uppersurface of the protective lens 214 also can be substantially level withor lower than the outer surface of the housing 210.

Referring to FIG. 5, the portable device has a structure similar to thestructure shown in FIG. 3 except for the structure of the housing 210.In the embodiment, the housing 210 has a single layer structure and maycomprise metal or plastic. In the embodiment, the upper surface of theprotective lens 214 can also be substantially level with or lower thanthe outer surface of the housing 210.

Referring to FIG. 6, the portable device has a structure similar to thestructure shown in FIG. 5 except for the position of the protective lens214. In the embodiment, the protective lens 214 is not in direct contactwith the support ring 201 of the camera module 20, but is disposed on asurrounding portion of the housing 210, which circumscribes the apertureof the housing 210. Moreover, a camera ring 213 may be optionallyinterposed between the protective lens 214 and the housing 210. In theembodiment, the upper surface of the protective lens 214 also can besubstantially level with or lower than the outer surface of the housing210.

It is noted that although the portable devices shown in FIGS. 3 to 6 areequipped with the camera module 20 shown in FIG. 2A, it is appreciatedthat these portable devices may be equipped with the camera module 20′shown in FIG. 2B to obtain the same or similar advantages achieved inthe embodiments of FIGS. 3 to 6.

According to the foregoing embodiments, since a protruding amount of thecamera module 20 can be reduced or fully eliminated by partiallyinserting the camera device 200 into the through hole of the plateportion 204 a of the chassis 204, a mobile phone with a flatter andthinner profile can be accomplished and the appearance thereof can beembellished. Moreover, since the conductive buffer pad 202 is directlyelectrically connected to the display module 208, the grounding path canbe shortened to improve EMI protection performance.

While the invention has been described by way of example and in terms ofpreferred embodiment, it is to be understood that the invention is notlimited thereto. To the contrary, it is intended to cover variousmodifications and similar arrangements (as would be apparent to thoseskilled in the art). Therefore, the scope of the appended claims shouldbe accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all suchmodifications and similar arrangements.

What is claimed is:
 1. A camera module, comprising: a camera device,comprising: a substrate; an image sensor device disposed on thesubstrate to capture images; and a holder for covering the image sensordevice, comprising a side portion placed around the image sensor deviceand the substrate; and a support ring undetachably and directly fixed toand extending radially outward from the side portion of the holder in alateral direction, and attached onto a wall portion of a chassis.
 2. Thecamera module of claim 1, wherein the support ring encloses an upperportion of the holder.
 3. The camera module of claim 1, furthercomprising a conductive buffer pad attached onto a lower surface of thesubstrate.
 4. The camera module of claim 1, wherein the holder is indirect contact with the side portion of the support ring.
 5. The cameramodule of claim 1, wherein the holder is integrally formed with thesupport ring.
 6. The camera module of claim 1, wherein the support ringis fixed to and laterally extending from an outer circumference of theside portion of the holder, and an outer circumference of the supportring has an octagonal, circular, triangular, squared, rectangular,pentagonal, hexagonal or polygonal profile.